The Idea of Coventry Patmore (Classic Reprint)

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Excerpt from The Idea of Coventry PatmoreThere have been two previous attempts to make love the basis of a comprehensive philosophy. The first was made by Plato, the second by Dante. Each of his predecessors in¿uenced Coventry Pat more, but he differed in a capital point from both. The Platonic theory is too familiar to require exposition or a detailed criticism here. It was a very beautiful structure with a curious congenital defect. The Platonic theory of love is a pyramid standing on its apex. For this reason it can never become a sufficient philosophy for men in general, though it will ever nourish the attempts of other poets. Dante's idealization of love as the Divine Wisdom, revealed to him in the person of Beatrice, busied itself too much with the ¿owers and fruits, too little with the roots and soils. It is not a fit philosophy for men in general, because it forgot that a theory of love, if it is to satisfy men, must pay respect not only to the soul but to the senses, not only to the imagination but to the body of man. Each theory idealized one aspect of human relations. Plato chose the friend, Dante the unmarried woman, Patmore the wife. While the two earlier theories were alike in their hostility to marriage, Patmore made married love the definition of love itself.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.